Japanese artist Eiko Okano will give a free lecture at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum on Friday, April 6, at 5:30 p.m.
Selections of her work are on exhibition in "Eiko Okano's Delectable World" at the museum through June 28.
Okano has been a leading quilt artist in Japan since the 1980s. After learning patchwork from preeminent quiltmaker Chuck Nohara, she founded the quilt school, “Basket,” where she currently teaches regularly. This is her first solo exhibition at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum.
"She has established herself in Japan as a quilt artist with a unique, comparatively exuberant style," said Marin Hanson, curator of international collections. "For a long time, Japanese quiltmakers were best known for impeccable workmanship and faithful reproductions of traditional American quilt styles and formats. Early on, Okano veered away from that path and pursued her own vision—she’s a bit of a maverick, you might say.”
The exhibition pulls from the museum’s collection of her work and was made possible with funding from the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment as well as Friends of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum.
The museum will offer free admission to the galleries and light refreshments from 4-7 p.m. as part of Lincoln's First Friday Artwalk. Other exhibitions on display at the museum include "Uncovered: The Ken Burns Collection," "Made by Hand: American Quilts in the Industrial Age" and "Velda Newman Panorama."